Their stories, taken from court records, sketch out a common theme: Traffickers find vulnerable young women, seduce them with promises of security, then force them into the sex trade.
When they resist, they are beaten, drugged, threatened with the loss of their children.
And the businesses are everywhere. From a brick house in a quiet neighborhood to a three-star hotel near a swanky mall, sex trafficking has infiltrated the most ordinary of surroundings in Maryland.

Gov. Larry Hogan's performance in Baltimore Thursday evoked memories of William Donald Schaefer, the legendary "Do it now" mayor and governor, as Hogan announced the immediate closing of the Baltimore City Detention Center.
Hogan's large bald head from his chemotherapy added to the impression, but it was more the tone, attitude and approach that was Schaeferesque: impatient, angry, concerned with the people affected, and denigrating those other politicians who couldn't get the job done

At the recent annual meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Program leadership, there was much talk about the importance of restoring local rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay, but a shortage of commitment to specific actions that will get Bay restoration back on track

A new Maryland commission to study over-testing of children in public schools has yet to begin work, but new standardized tests based on the Common Core curriculum standards are already saving the state money, and four out of five Maryland students who took the tests did them online

The federal government is one of the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s largest landowners and manages an area roughly the size of Delaware’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, or 5.4 percent of the entire basin.
The land and facilities it controls share little in common except that they are all under federal management, and their owners, like all landowners, have a responsibility to reduce their pollution to meet the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load

A month after Gov. Larry Hogan made the decision to ditch the Red Line light-rail project in Baltimore, the city's political and business establishment, including editorial writers and columnists, continue to express outrage.
There's little indication that anyone beyond the immediate Baltimore area is paying much attention to the angry outbursts, and certainly not Hogan himself

You’ve got to give Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn credit for one thing: honesty.
He fessed up at a legislative hearing last week that Gov. Larry Hogan Jr. had stripped every last cent from Baltimore’s Red Line rail-transit initiative – as well as most of the state’s previously allocated dollars for the Washington area’s Purple Line – and shifted the entire amount into highway and bridge projects far removed from Maryland’s population centers

Poultry mega-houses, a major trend in the poultry industry, have sprouted in Somerset County where trees used to sway, bringing with them tons of manure, industrial-level traffic and the stench of ammonia. They are much larger than traditional chicken houses and sit on smaller parcels of land, with no grain production, and near residential homes.

Their stories, taken from court records, sketch out a common theme: Traffickers find vulnerable young women, seduce them with promises of security, then force them into the sex trade.
When they resist, they are beaten, drugged, threatened with the loss of their children.
And the businesses are everywhere. From a brick house in a quiet neighborhood to a three-star hotel near a swanky mall, sex trafficking has infiltrated the most ordinary of surroundings in Maryland. ... Read More→

Gov. Larry Hogan's performance in Baltimore Thursday evoked memories of William Donald Schaefer, the legendary "Do it now" mayor and governor, as Hogan announced the immediate closing of the Baltimore City Detention Center.
Hogan's large bald head from his chemotherapy added to the impression, but it was more the tone, attitude and approach that was Schaeferesque: impatient, angry, concerned with the people affected, and denigrating those other politicians who couldn't get the job done... Read More→

At the recent annual meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Program leadership, there was much talk about the importance of restoring local rivers, streams and the Chesapeake Bay, but a shortage of commitment to specific actions that will get Bay restoration back on track... Read More→

A new Maryland commission to study over-testing of children in public schools has yet to begin work, but new standardized tests based on the Common Core curriculum standards are already saving the state money, and four out of five Maryland students who took the tests did them online... Read More→

Medical marijuana grower hopes to set up operation in Washington County, but some state lawmakers concerned about proposal; Gov. Hogan to chair economic panel of NGA; Yumi Hogan hosts Korean delegation at Government House; state Sen. Middleton says new ride-sharing law needs cleaning up; Virginia governor attempts to fire shot at Maryland over who can claim Maryland blue crabs; and prez candidate O’Malley takes a swipe at Hillary Clinton’s Wall St. connections, while having his own conversion on criminal justice.
... Read More→

The federal government is one of the Chesapeake Bay watershed’s largest landowners and manages an area roughly the size of Delaware’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, or 5.4 percent of the entire basin.
The land and facilities it controls share little in common except that they are all under federal management, and their owners, like all landowners, have a responsibility to reduce their pollution to meet the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load... Read More→